Inspiration and insight for online retailers

It’s a not-to-be-missed date in the ecommerce calendar – Catalyst Europe, the award-winning conference organised by ChannelAdvisor, is in London this week.

Catalyst Europe takes place at the Hilton London Metropole Hotel – picture by King Huang

The one-day event at the Hilton London Metropole Hotel on Thursday 10th April is geared to helping businesses of all sizes successfully navigate the constantly changing ecommerce landscape. It brings together thousands of online retailers from across Europe and beyond, with presentations by industry giants such as Google’s John Gillan, Amazon’s Chris Poad, and Simon Calver, CEO of Mothercare.

With British consumers spending £11 billion online last year (a £2 billion rise on 2012), it’s not surprising more and more businesses are looking to increase their slice of this growing pie. This figure is set to soar to £28 billion by 2020.

But keeping up with the latest trends – such as mobile marketing and choosing the right online marketplaces – is a constant challenge. That’s where Catalyst Europe can help. With the theme “Ecommerce Accelerated”, it features keynote sessions on major industry trends, with three tracks catering to retailers of different sizes and levels of experience.

Zoe Ripley, ChannelAdvisor’s marketing director (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), said: “We are thrilled to unveil this year’s exciting agenda, which features presentations and sessions that will inform and inspire online retailers as they accelerate their e-commerce businesses in 2014.

“Alongside the robust agenda, Catalyst Europe offers unparalleled networking opportunities with the industry’s top influencers, as well as access to vital partners that online retailers need to be successful.”

ChannelAdvisor is a leading provider of cloud-based ecommerce solutions that enable retailers and manufacturers to increase global sales across hundreds of online channels.

Sessions will look at how retailers can expand to emerging markets, and where the most exciting opportunities are. According to Emarketer, online sales in the Middle East and Africa will increase 25% this year, while sales in Southeast Asia will rise 29%, overtaking North America as the world’s largest online market.

Other sessions will cover topics includeing “Building a Successful Search Marketing Strategy” and “How to Own the Google Search Page”.

Jeremy Clutton and Mario de Bortoli-Jones, Lingo24’s Account Directors, will be at Catalyst Europe. They’ll be keeping up with the latest trends in the world of online retail, and sharing advice on using the internet to reach overseas customers.

Hazel Mollison edits and writes for the Lingo24 blog. After studying Italian and German at Cambridge University, she worked as a journalist for five years with regional and national newspapers. She enjoys writing about languages, translation, online marketing, and helping small businesses explore new opportunities.